to prepare anything, mitt romney's people are saying, hey, president obama is the best debater ever and i have never been in a presidential debate. >> reporter: both the president and republican nominee are off the campaign trail today preparing for the debate. mitt romney was spotted tacking a break at a denver chipotle with his debate partner senator rob portman. this picture has been a hit on political blogs as part of a caption contest. as for the president, he is near las vegas today for his rehearsals with senator john kerry and was caught joking about them. >> basically they're keeping me indoors all the time. it's a drag. [ laughter ] >> they're making me do my homework. >> reporter: while both the president and romney appeared relaxed, there is a lot at stake for their first head-to-head battle. >> in any good debate, you want to have some things prepared in advance. you want to have memorable lines, surprise your opponent and knock them off their feet, and you want to be remembered for something. >> reporter: the "new york times" reports that the romney camp has prepared h